This invention relates to irrigation sprinklers, and more particularly to a new and improved oscillating wave-type sprinkler primarily intended for use in irrigating lawns, flowers, shrubs and the like.
Oscillating wave-type sprinklers have long been known and used in the irrigation art for watering lawns, gardens, shrubs, flowers and other plants. Typically, such sprinklers include a water-driven motor mounted in a housing and which drives an elongated spray tube for side-to-side oscillation about a generally horizontal axis. The spray tube, which usually is formed of thin-gauge tubular metal and is bowed along its length, has a plurality of water outlet openings or nozzles spaced along the length of the tube and which project discrete water streams outwardly from the tube in a fan-like spray pattern. As the spray tube oscillates about its axis, the fan-like spray produced by the outlets or nozzles translates back and forth across the ground producing a gentle rain-like fallout to either side of the sprinkler. Exemplary of such prior art oscillating wave-type sprinklers are those marketed by Rain Bird Sprinkler Mfg. Corp. of Glendora, Calif., as, for example, depicted at page 7 of their 1987 Rain Bird Consumer Products catalogue.
One disadvantage inherent in most oscillating wave-type sprinklers is that the distribution pattern of water over the ground tends to be confined to discrete narrow strips or bands formed on each side of the spray tube where the individual water sprays from each outlet or nozzle regularly fall to the ground. As a result, oscillating wave-type sprinklers typically produced water distribution patterns that leave unwatered or underwatered strips between the watered strips produced by the fallout from each spray tube outlet or nozzle.
Thus, there exists a need for an oscillating wave-type sprinkler which overcomes the foregoing disadvantage and provides a substantially uniform water distribution pattern that does not leave unwatered or underwatered strips along the length of the fan-shaped spray as the spray tube oscillates from side to side. As will become more apparent hereinafter, the present invention satisfies this need and provides additional advantages and features not found in the prior art.